Work group

Project

dignified and lasting remembrance of the victims of all Czechoslovak land troops that
fought on the Western Front in the World War II

to remind the Czech public of the fact that thousands of Czechoslovak citizens contributed
to the liberation of occupied Czechoslovakia between 1939 and 1945

dignified and lasting reminder of the systematic persecution of Czech soldiers fighting
in the West by the communist regime between 1948 and 1989

to inform the public (especially young people) about historical context and to show
the society that we have our own heroes

Project information

Only about 40 people of the original members of the Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade are
still alive

The soldiers of the Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade arrived to Pilsen on 7 May 1945

The Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade was not allowed to cross the demarcation line and was
still deployed in western Bohemia, whose centre is in the city of Pilsen

Work on the memorial started in the course 2008. On 11 January 2012, the Military Car Club
Plzeň was issued an urban land permit to build the memorial ref. no.: SZ UMO3/000977/12

The memorial will be unveiled in Pilsen, at the crossroads of Husova Street and Pětatřicátkníků
Park, at 10 a.m. on 8 May 2012.

Sincere thanks and indispensable for ongoing support in the preparation of the memorial
belong to Mr. Milan Chovanec

A memorial will be constructed by the Private Secondary Industrial Arts School ZÁMEČEK.

The memorial will be unveiled by the Military Car Club Plzeň with the support of the Pilsen
Region represented by Governor Mr. Milan Chovanec and with the support of the City of Pilsen
represented First Deputy Eva Herinková.

Accompanying text

During the period of 1939 - 1945, about five hundred members of the Czechoslovak foreign military
units were killed in action, died of war injuries, died while on duty or otherwise, or became
the victims of various diseases in the West, in North Africa and the Middle East.

In August 1940, the 1st Czechoslovak Mixed Brigade was formed 1. in England. The vast majority
were the men who, in the spring of 1940, formed the 1st Czechoslovak Division in France.
3,500 men out of the total number of the division members managed to escape to England after
the fights in France ended. In July 1941, the 1st Czechoslovak Mixed Brigade in the UK
was reorganized to form the 1st Czechoslovak Independent Brigade. When fighting in
the Middle East finally ended, the Czechoslovak 200th Light Anti-aircraft Regiment –
the Eastern – was moved to England where it arrived in August 1943. The soldiers who had gone
through fights against Rommel’s Africa Corps were subsequently incorporated into the ranks of the
Czechoslovak Independent Brigade, which was also transformed into the Czechoslovak Independent
Armoured Brigade. Colonel Alois Liška, later promoted to General, became its commander. The Cromwell
tanks became its striking force.

Shortly after the opening of the second front, it was decided that the Czechoslovak Armoured
Brigade would be deployed on the front in France. Given that, unfortunately, sufficiently numerous
reserves were not available, it was decided that the brigade would be deployed near the French
port town of Dunkirk, where numerous German garrison was fortified. Here the Czechoslovaks fought
many a battle, the most famous of which took place on 28 October 1944. A total of 182 Czechoslovaks
were killed and 461 ones were injured on the "lone front", as the fights for the perimeter around
the port were called, from October 1944 to May 1945.

In fact, just a few hours after the tanks of the American 16th Armored Division penetrated
to Pilsen, a small military unit with Czechoslovaks in battle-dresses appeared in the city too.
They were the members of the Combined Detachment of the Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade
who advanced behind the American first line units and participated symbolically in the liberation
of the West Bohemian borderlands. The soldiers of Lieutenant Colonel Sítek, who commanded the unit,
were ready to go to help Prague; however, they did not receive an official permission to cross
the demarcation the line.

Immediately after the end of hostilities in Europe in May 1945, the whole brigade set out on
a journey to Czechoslovakia, where it arrived after 18 May. Up to 6,200 men, 300 tanks, 1,300 lorries
and 230 armoured vehicles were deployed at many places south of Plzeň and Klatovy on the so-called
Demarcation Line. In the summer 1945, the men of General Liška participated in a number of military
parades held ​​in Pilsen and at many other places in the Czech west. As early as June 1945,
the Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade was transformed to the 1st Czechoslovak
Tank Corps and the unit, whose source was already formed during defensive battles in France
and which was strengthened by a number of men fighting at Tobruk, disappeared.

The members of the land forces fighting on the side of France and Great Britain has never been
given as much attention as Czechoslovak airmen in the RAF. The memorial, which will stand in
the Pilsen centre, is just a small thank you for everything these men had to endure on their
journey for the restoration of Czechoslovakia. We must not forget the social pressure to which
these "Westerners" exposed after the communist coup in February 1948. Many of those who fought
in the war for the freedom of their homeland were persecuted, imprisoned or even executed three
years after the victory over fascism. The memorial will also commemorate the famous battle sites
where the Czechoslovaks proven themselves as fearless fighters for democracy and freedom
of the oppressed.